Columbus casino on track for October

As Ameet Patel took in the opening of the Hollywood Casino Toledo yesterday, he couldn't help looking ahead to the opening of the Columbus casino.

As Ameet Patel took in the opening of the Hollywood Casino Toledo yesterday, he couldn’t help looking ahead to the opening of the Columbus casino.

“The hardest thing to do now is temper my enthusiasm,” said Patel, general manager of the Hollywood Casino Columbus, which he said is on schedule to open in October.

An exact date has not been set, but the hiring of almost 2,000 employees has begun. The Columbus casino will be larger than its Toledo counterpart “and even more tremendous,” Patel said. Both casinos are owned by Penn National Gaming.

The West Side is already benefiting from the casino project, said Chris Haydocy, co-owner of Haydocy Buick GMC. He was one of the leading promoters of bringing the casino to the neighborhood, and his dealership has rented space to Penn National for training.

“Two years ago, there was zero interest” in investing in the neighborhood, he said. “Soon, this will be a hub of activity for property transactions and building.”

Haydocy lists several examples, such as the renovation of his dealership along with a similar project at Bobby Layman Chevrolet, and the expansion of Tee Jaye’s restaurant. Those businesses are all on W. Broad Street near the casino site.

Another encouraging sign is the sale of vacant property near the site. He said several pieces of land are under contract, and further information soon will become available.

Linda Layman, part of the family that owns the Chevrolet dealership, said the renovation there had been planned since before the casino was announced. It is the result of General Motors’ attempt to update nearly all of its stores.

However, because of the casino, the dealership is investing more in the renovation than it might have otherwise, she said.

Penn National is also making a larger investment in Columbus. Hollywood Casino Columbus will cost $400 million, while the Toledo casino cost $320?million.

The Columbus casino will have about 3,000 slot machines and 100 table games, Patel said, while the one in Toledo has slightly more than 2,000 slot machines and 60 table games.

“Everything inside will look very similar (to Toledo), but on a bigger scale,” he said. “And the outside will be surrounded by water and cascades and will create a sense of arrival.”

The size of the Columbus market also led to the addition of a 10,000-square-foot banquet and meeting center in the casino.

“Our most exciting work begins now,” Patel said, referring to the process of hiring blackjack dealers and croupiers, cocktail waitresses, security guards, chefs and servers, and the back-room staff.

“Right now, we have 40 employees,” he said.

There will be 2,000 when the casino opens, and Patel said he already has received 20,000 applications. The initial group of 400 prospective dealers started training yesterday.

“We’re going to hire about 2,000 people in the next 90 days,” he said.

swartenberg@dispatch.com

dgearino@dispatch.com

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